Super-polite bowing shoebill in Japan wins hearts with its incidental grasp...
Video shows Futaba-chan’s polished manners. The shoebill can be a very unnerving animal. Native to East Africa, the birds can grow to heights of over 150 centimeters (59 inches), with wide wingspans...
View ArticleIs it OK to bite through your ramen noodles while slurping them in Japan?...
Slurping is the norm in a Japanese noodle house, but is it OK to bite off your ramen if it’s more than you can chew? One of the first things you’ll hear in any discussion of Japanese table manners is...
View ArticleJapan votes on the rudest behaviors seen on trains and at stations this year
This year’s ranking includes Kanto vs. Kansai regional variations in addition to the overall list. Every year around this time, commuters on trains operated by the member companies of the Japan...
View Article10 tips to remember for your first trip to izakaya, Japan’s awesome...
Suntory’s for-foreigners video has plenty of great info, and we’ve got a few things to add. There’s a lot to love about going out to eat in Japan, but izakaya might be just about the best of all of...
View ArticleIzakaya etiquette: Stacking your plates after eating doesn’t help waitstaff...
Japanese restaurant worker says there’s a better system that diners should use. With so many different customs and rules of etiquette in Japan, it can be difficult for both foreigners and locals alike...
View ArticleJapanese apartment renter gets told he “sucks at rapping,” asked by...
Diss is backed up by landlord in an example of Japanese renting etiquette. There are plenty of reasons why Japanese society values politeness so much, and one of those is because housing is so dense...
View ArticleJapanese manners videos show how to be a “really cool” traveller in Japan...
Japan Tourism Agency uses ninja, sumo and geisha to demonstrate what to do and what not to do in Japan. Japan is currently in the midst of a tourism boom at the moment, with 31.9 million foreign...
View ArticleDo you need to apologize when using a credit card in Japan?
Online commenters have a strong reaction to textbook’s advice, but there might be another angle to consider. Japanese etiquette has a reputation for being extremely complex, but honestly, a lot of it...
View ArticleFour things our new-mother reporter felt riding the Tokyo subway with her baby
Our reporter worried she and her baby would be harassed on the trains, but what she experienced was quite unexpected. When you live overseas for a long time and come back to your home country for a...
View ArticleFusedon: the mysterious Japanese subculture of flipping your bowl to say...
It’s gross and annoying, and yet some people won’t stop doing it for some reason. In recent days, there’s been a lot of talk online about the practice of fusedon (literally “facedown bowl”). This is...
View ArticleJapanese store stops talking to customers because of coronavirus, some hope...
Is silence golden, or is chitchat a necessary part of running a store? In contrast to many other countries’ responses to the coronavirus outbreak, retail stores have largely remained open in Japan...
View ArticleTwo incredibly important phrases to remember when shopping in Japan
Japan is known for its excellent customer service, but being an excellent customer is important too. With Japan’s incredibly high standards for customer service, cashiers are expected to be polite,...
View ArticleThe polite way to eat onigiri rice balls sparks debate online
Even the humble onigiri isn’t safe from the complexities of Japanese etiquette. With rules regarding chopstick use and taboos dictating the order in which dishes should be eaten, the world of Japanese...
View ArticleJapan’s public broadcaster renames “correct way” to hold chopsticks, gets...
Those who struggle with the orthodox grip are happy for a bit of validation. As a society that thinks thoroughly about etiquette, Japan has a lot of ideas about proper table manners. As you might...
View ArticleHow should you respond when a Japanese person gives you a compliment?
You may have heard there’s only one proper phrase to use, but that’s not true. According to the common logic of Japanese etiquette, when someone pays you a compliment the best response is to say...
View ArticleKobe hospital gets anonymous 5 million yen cash donation, gives it back, gets...
Random acts of kindness can sometimes be tricky to pull off. It probably can’t be repeated enough how much credit is due to hospital staff for constantly facing coronavirus infections head-on while...
View ArticleIs there any point to holding your chopsticks the “correct” way? Let’s find...
After years of using her own style, our Japanese-born reporter finally does what her parents were trying to get her to do all along. Our Japanese-language reporter Saya was born in Japan and has spent...
View ArticleSaitama begins plans to regulate how to use escalators, prohibit walking up...
Although walking is common practice, support for banning it is strong online. When they were invented around the turn of the 20th century, escalators made a huge splash and quickly replaced catapults...
View ArticleForeign citizen arrested in Japan for throwing his bento trash in a mailbox
U.K. citizen claims he thought it was a trashcan. Japan has a reputation as a culture with a complex set of etiquette rules, where every action one takes has the potential to shock and offend those...
View ArticleSaitama officially forbids walking up and down escalators
They’ve become the first prefecture in Japan to do so. Masahiro Kawase is a 48-year-old office worker who suffered a stroke six years ago and is paralyzed on his left side. However, in Saitama...
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